May 21st Start Date for 2015

[jj442434]

It's been in my plans to thru hike the PCT in 2016 for a while now. I graduate in 2015, and figured I would work for a year to make enough money to go. As of today, I've thought about changing my plans to start in 2015. I graduate on May 17th (in LA) and figured I could take a bus down to San Diego without too much rush and start by the 21st of May from the Mexican Border.

I am concerned about several things. I've heard that most people plan for a year, I would have almost exactly four months. I have been reading about the PCT nearly nonstop for the past two years, so I feel I have a lot of information already stored away, and I think I would buy food and mail it ahead as I go, so those are two things in my favor.

I'm worried about being 3 or more weeks behind the pack, both from the standpoint on missing out on the thru hiker camaraderie, and from the making miles standpoint. I don't want to be in the Cascades too late into October. I am young and I'd like to think in very good shape, however I hurt my knee on the JMT last year after I did 19 or so miles from Tuolumne to 1000 Island Lake with no trekking poles after not hiking much to get in shape for the trail, so that gives me pause.

This has been my dream for years now, and on one hand I want to wait to allow myself as much time and give myself as much of a chance to succeed as possible. On the other, theres something to be said for leaving when I have no apartment and very few possessions to tie me down, and it seems like so much more of a clean break than if I were to leave after a year or a little less of work. I'm very conflicted.

[knicksin2010]

It is possible to start May 21 and complete the trail, but the heat and water situation in southern California could get pretty uncomfortable for you. If you can average hiking 20 miles a day, you would get to Kennedy Meadows (Mile 702) and the start of the High Sierras around the end of June. I'd expect you would run into some thru-hikers leaving KM around that time. That pace/timeframe doesn't allow for more than a couple zero days to rest and recover from injuries on the trail or to get into trail shape. That's not a recommended start date for most people if they don't have experience doing that kind of mileage on a long distance hike.

Since you live in LA, you could start further north and come back after you reach Canada and complete the southern portion of the trail. Possible starting points could be I-10 near Cabazon, Big Bear, Rt 2 near Wrightwood, or Agua Dulce.

I'd spend some time figuring out how much food, postage, gear, shoe replacements, transportation, (storage costs), restaurants and lodging will cost on the trip and then determine whether you'll have enough to complete your goal and be prepared for the expenses after your hike.

Good luck!

[quasarr]

Four months is plenty of time to plan! Don't worry about this at all. Since you mentioned hiking on the JMT, you probably already have gear. And if you aren't doing a bunch of mail drops in advance (which I agree isn't really necessary) then there really isn't a ton of planning for you to do. Just try to get in shape!

It is definitely possible to complete the trail in 4 months, but most of the people who do that are already experienced long distance hikers. I agree with knicks - your best option might be to start farther north so you don't have so much pressure. Note there are long dry stretches in this part of CA. If you're not in "trail shape" a 25 mile dry stretch is a lot harder. But this is not a huge problem, just carry more water

I think Big Bear would be a good place to start, the trail north of there is relatively easy for a while and will give you some time to acclimate. You can reach Big Bear by a local bus from San Bernadino.

You also said you were planning to work to save up money. If you start hiking this year, will you have enough money? What is your budget like? Don't disregard this part of your hike! Many hikers have to leave the trail because they ran out of money. If you don't have enough (I would say $5,000 minimum) then it might be better to work for a year to make sure your hike is a success.

[jj442434]

I have all the gear I need, and I would want to spend $400 max to lighten up some things. If I was careful with my spending or got a job, I would have 6000 dollars to spend on the hike, with all my gear already paid for, which on a four month hike is nearly $50 per day. So I think I'm good there.

That's a very good suggestion, to start further north, and I guess that is a sacrifice I may need to make to make it happen this year, but I really love the idea of walking border to border. Even when I was planning the hike for 2016, I decided I didn't want to skip the Sierra even in a big snow year, because I much prefer to walk from north to south with no interruptions

[rjhouser]

I have all the gear I need, and I would want to spend $400 max to lighten up some things. If I was careful with my spending or got a job, I would have 6000 dollars to spend on the hike, with all my gear already paid for, which on a four month hike is nearly $50 per day. So I think I'm good there.

That's a very good suggestion, to start further north, and I guess that is a sacrifice I may need to make to make it happen this year, but I really love the idea of walking border to border. Even when I was planning the hike for 2016, I decided I didn't want to skip the Sierra even in a big snow year, because I much prefer to walk from north to south with no interruptions

In some ways you're better off than me. I wish I had four months, I've only got 100 days from May 5. You can do it in that timeframe. Would have to up the miles and lower the town time. A benefit of that is it's cheaper.

[fireneck]

You could start doing spring break down at Campos. Hike for six or seven days. After graduation pick up where you left off.

[Miner]

I know someone who got injured coming into Idyllwild during his second week of hiking and went home for several weeks. When he got back on this was his schedule:
Left Idyllwild on May 24
Left I-10 on May 26
Left the I-15 at Cajon on June 2
Left town of Aqua Dulce on June 10 (after taking 2 zeros)
Left town of Tehachapi on June 16
Left Kennedy Meadows into the high Sierra on June 24
Finished in Canada on October 2

He only ran into a few hikers before the Sierra but slowly caught up to the back of the herd by being disciplined. He got up early and hiked late each day insuring he got in his daily mileage goals. He didn't hook up with any groups of hikers as they likely were going slower then him since he caught them and they would only slow him down. Still took off a zero each week, though in Northern California, he did mostly Neros instead as there really wasn't much point in staying in most towns there for long (nothing to do).

If you are in good shape when you start (ie. train by hiking and backpacking on your weekends), have your pack base weight down under 15 pounds, you could start on the 21st and still finish. Otherwise start somewhere between Warner Springs and the I-15 and come back to finish in October or November when it cools down. If you are back in school, you could use your Thanksgiving and winter break to finish SoCal.

[Malto]

I did your hike in 2011. I started May 21st and was the last starter to finish NoBo as far as I know. I would highly recommend arriving at Campo in top shape ready to push higher miles from the start. That will get you quickly up with the pack. I starting hitting the pack big time by Aqua Dulce but was doing high miles from the start. You can get a good feel for what a fast May 21 might look like here. Keep in mind '11 was a major snow year so it slowed down most of the hikers from entering the Sierra.

http://postholer.com/journal/viewJou...entry_id=22520

[Malto]

In some ways you're better off than me. I wish I had four months, I've only got 100 days from May 5. You can do it in that timeframe. Would have to up the miles and lower the town time. A benefit of that is it's cheaper.

You better hope hope it is a low snow year. To hit a 100 day schedule you are better off starting May 21, my start date. I entered the Sierra June 14th which was perfect for '11. To keep my pace, just under 100 days, you will want to enter the Sierra before June 1st which is early depending on the snow year. If you don't you will have to do major miles up north which is doable. I was on a fast pace but also look 4 days off in Tahoe with my wife. But I didn't take another true zero the rest of the trip and averaged over 30mpd on all full hiking days which was most of the remainder of the trip. Here is an interesting breakdown on the daily mileage.

http://postholer.com/journal/viewJou...entry_id=26640